In the past two decades, relations between Armenia and Turkey have been left in diplomatic limbo. The Armenian-Turkish border has been closed since 1993, which has been a major blow to the economic prospects of the region, among other things. Armenia’s closed border with Turkey (as well as Azerbaijan) have limited the landlocked country’s territorial connections to the Georgian and Iranian routes, while the border cities on the Turkish side suffer from the absence of economic activity in the region and are amongst the least developed regions in Turkey. The absence of official diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey makes a compelling case for the need to strengthen economic cooperation in order to help build confidence between the two countries. While the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of the land border remain the most pressing issues in the long run, strengthening cross-border business interactions can generate short-term results.

* This document has been prepared by the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV), a team consisting of Esen Çağlar, Ussal Şahbaz, Ali Sökmen, Feride İnan, İpek Beril Benli and İrem Kızılca.